We all know that the living room is the most important space within the house, decor-wise. However, homeowners are reluctant to redecorate it because they believe that the total cost will hurt their home improvements budget. This only partially true since there are several decor ideas and tips that will help you make the living room stand out from the rest of the house, all the while restraining yourself from overspending.

A literal green-house effect

One of the most cost-effective solutions to improve the decor of your living room are plants. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, so they are rewarding when it comes to blending them in the existing decor. You can either opt for a green corner that will be filled with large potted plants or you can tastefully place flower pots all around the room. The basic notion behind introducing plant life in the living room is enriching the air in the room with greenery. Oh yeah, with a lot of plants inside, you will also literally enrich the air with oxygen.

Laying out the layout

Whether you have simply kept the furniture layout in the house when you bought it or you have arranged it yourself, it is time to reorganize the layout. The typical sofa-coffee table-entertainment unit dimension of the room is alterable you know. Instead of a low table as the focal point, try adding a piece of art in the center. The sofa needn’t be in the dead center of the wall, as you can see the TV screen perfectly well from the corner of the living room.

Finally, decluttering the room from unnecessary pieces of furniture comes with great visual benefits. There is bound to be a rack or a box that you don’t use that often and that doesn’t belong in the living room. Thinking outside the box takes a quite literal connotation when it comes to the living room.

Painting a pretty picture

By far, the largest surface area inside your living room are the walls. Their color sets the tone of the entire room so using a single color for all walls can prove to be a bit dull. This doesn’t mean that each wall should have a color of its own but a two-color scheme can improve the atmospheres of the living room significantly. After you repaint the walls, you will realize new potential for hanging artwork on the walls. If you choose the palette right, you will literally be painting a pretty picture out of your living room.

Its majesty, the sofa…

Walls might be the largest surfaces inside the living room but it is the sofa that is the most important and often the largest pieces of furniture. That is why it has the potential to make or break the decor of the entire space. If you are not happy with the design, size or the upholstery of your present sofa, don’t worry too much, as you don’t necessarily have to purchase a new one.

…and its minions, the cushions

Adding cushions of various shapes and colors can revamp any sofa, no matter how out of style it is. They are a budget solution to redecorating the living room, as they can be custom made. Ordering cushions online allows you to choose the best possible design that will fit in with your sofa. You also get to select the material the upholstery is made from and perhaps add some tassels along the edges.

Leveling the lights

One of the dullest details in any living room is the overhead light. It is so plain that homeowners frantically add lamps of all sorts to try to create a mini lightshow. However, this creates additional problems in the form of uneven light sources. They end up with several light sources at different levels which puts a strain on the eyes and frankly, it looks ghastly. Whichever light source you opt for in the end, it should be leveled. If you ditch the overhead lightbulb in favor of freestanding floor lamps, then all the lamps should be of the same height.

A home gallery

If you’re done redecorating the room but are still left with an empty wall that is hurting the decor of the room, then a gallery wall is an ideal solution to the problem. It affects the interior design of the living room twice fold. Firstly, you get to choose what sort of imagery goes on the walls. When making this selection, go for more or less uniform colors that fit well with the rest of the room. Secondly, you have the possibility to hang frames that will create a transition between the artwork and the color of the wall. You needn’t be an interior designer to choose the right color combo.

In the end, it all comes down to accentuation and colors. All the methods listed here are on a budget, so there isn’t anything stopping you from implementing all or some of these living room decor ideas.

Author Bio: Sarah Jessica Smith is a young blogger from Sydney. She is in love with life and all the things that can make her daily routine easier. She loves to write about home improvement, lifestyle, and all the small things that make life such a great adventure.